Reeling system



Feb. 19, 1957 J. M. uRl'ns 2,782,029

REELING SYSTEM Filed March 31, 1954 1 N VEN TOR.

(fax 015 4mm 1 TTORNE 1' United States Patent- REELING SYSTEM Joseph M.Uritis, Haddonfield, N. J., assignor to Radio Corporation of America, acorporation of Delaware Application March 31, 1954, Serial No. 420,055

4 Claims. (Cl. 2712.6)

The present invention relates to reeling systems, and more particularlyto self-centering guide means for preventing a reelable web fromdeparting from a pair of drive rollers when the two edges of the web areunequal in length.

It has been observed that relatively thin web materials, such asmagnetic recording tapes, are occasionally distorted, either inmanufacture or through use, so that one edge of the tape is longer thanthe other. When such a distortion is present, the tape or web tends tocurve in the major plane thereof. When such a distorted tape is pulledalong a substantially straight path by a conventional driving system,one side of the tape carries the load and is tightly drawn while theother side of the tape is loose. Under such conditions, the tape has atendency to climb towards the tight side and eventually run 01? thedriving rollers. When fixed guide means are used in an effort to preventthe tape from being guided out of its normal path, the fixed guide meansnormally bear on one or the other of the edges of the tape. Since thesetapes are very thin and fragile, the fixed guide means usually damagethe tight edge.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide animproved guide means which obviates the foregoing difiiculties.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improvedguide means as set forth wherein the guide means is floatingly mounted.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedreeling system including self-centering guide means which preventdistorted webs from running ofi of the driving means.

In accomplishing these and other objects, there has been provided inaccordance with the present invention a reeling system wherein a tapeguide member is positioned along the path of the tape in advance of thedriving rollers and pivotally mounted about an axis substantially abovethe plane of the tape. Inequalities in the tension in the two sides ofthe tape cause the guide member to pivot about its pivot axis in adirection to compensate for the distortion in the tape and therebymaintain the feed relationship of the tape to the drive means relativelyconstant.

A better understanding of this invention may be had from the followingdetailed description when considered in connection with the accompanyingdrawing in which the single figure is a schematic representation of aportion of a reeling system embodying the present invention.

Referring now to the drawing in more detail, there is shown aribbon-like web member 2. The web member may be a magnetic recordingtape which comprises, for example, a plastic base member having acoating of magnetizable material. The web 2 is driven in the directionindicated by the arrows 4 by a driving roller 6 and a pressure roller 8.The driving roller 6 is, of course, driven by a suitable driving meansnot shown. The pressure roller 8 is positioned parallel to and incontact with the driving roller 6 whereby the web memher 2 may be fedbetween the two rollers and driven thereby.

A guide member 10 is positioned along the path of the web member inadvance of the driving roller. The guide member includes a web engagingor supporting arm 12 and a mounting arm 14. The mounting arm 14 ispivotally carried by a pivot member 16. The pivot member 16 is, ofcourse, suitably mounted on supporting apparatus not shown. The axis ofthe pivot is substantially parallel to, but somewhat removed from, thedirection of feed of the web member 2, and is positioned to be centeredabove the web. The guide member 10 is free to rotate about the pivotmember 16 in a direction substantially transverse to the direction ofadvance of the web member 2.

In operation, the web member is fed into the web supporting arm 12 ofthe guide member 10 and between the drive roller 6 and thepressureroller 8. The guide member is so positioned along the path ofthe web member that the web member is in close engagement with the websupporting arm 12. This may be accomplished in the manner illustrated byallowing the guide member to cause a bend in the web as the web passesthereover. The bend, of course, is in the direction of the thicknessdimension of the web. If, as aforesaid, the web has become deformed suchthat one edge is longer than the other, the engagement between the weband the guide means will not be uniform over the width of the web. Suchlack of uniformity in the pressure of the engagement causes the guidemeans to rotate about its pivot member 16 in a direction to reestablisha uniformity of contact pressure. Such pivotal motion is, of course,accompanied by a translational motion of the web supporting arm of theguide means. The direction of this translational motion is such as tocompensate for the tendency'of the web member to ride out from betweenthe driving roller and the pressure roller. It has been observed that,when the compensation is not applied as by the instant device, the webmember. exhibits a tend ency to climb towards the tight side. Thus, thedeviation in the path caused by the pivoting of the guide member is inthe direction towards the loose side of the web. This deviation, it hasbeen found, is of a magnitude and direction to compensate for thetendency of the web to ride out from between the rollers. The result isthat, even though the web is badly deformed, it will remain in uniformdriving relation with the driving means.

What is claimed is:

1. In a reeling system for a ribbon-like web member, a driving roller, apressure roller, said rollers being positioned to receive a web membertherebetween in web driving relation, and a web guide member positionedto guide said web member into alignment with said rollers, said guidemember including a web supporting arm, a mounting arm and meanspivotally supporting said guide means for pivotal motion about an axisand in a direction transverse of the web member, said supporting arm andsaid axis lying on opposite sides of said web member, said guide memberbeing pivotally movable under the influence of inequalities in thetension in the edges of the web member.

2. In a reeling system for reeling a ribbon-like web, driving means fordriving the web, a guide member for guiding said web into drivingrelation with said driving means, and a pivotal mounting means for saidguiding means, said guide means including a web supporting arm and amounting portion, said mounting portion being pivotally carried by saidmounting means, said supverse of the direction of advance of said vvebunder the influence of inequalities in tension in the edges of said web.

3. A self-aligning guide means for reelable ribbonlike web member, saidguide means comprising a Web supporting arm, a mounting arm, and pivotmeans, said mounting arm being pivotally mounted on said. pivot means;said web supporting arm being rigidly carried by said mounting arm in aposition depending from said pivot means, said web supporting arm beingpositioned to extend across and engage the width of the Web member, saidguide means being responsive to inequalities in relative tension in theedges of the web through rotational movement about said pivot means toeffect a compensation for distortions in said Web causing saidinequalities.

4. A self-aligning guide means for magnetic tape records, said guidemeans comprising a. tape supporting arm, a mounting arm, and pivotmeans, said mounting arm being pivotally mounted on said pivot means,said Web supporting arm being rigidly carried by said mounting arm in aposition depending from said pivot means with said pivot means beingsubstantially centered above a tape record when supported by saidsupport arm, said tape supporting arm being positioned to extend acrossand engage the Width of the tape record, said guide means beingresponsiveto inequalities in relative tension in the edges of the tapethrough rotational movement about said pivot means to effect acompensation for dis tortions in said tape causing said inequalities.

Ramse -Seine in me are or this "patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 163,207Kellberg May i], 1875

